, 1887-07-14
THE WORLDS WASTE.
Fortunes Annually Thrown Away in On.
considered TriHes.

considered Trihes.
l wish l had a nickel for every dollar
wasted in this country. Yes, I'll reduce
that proposition toa cent on the dollar,
and then retire rich in a few years. l
don't mean wasted by the rich, but by
the poor and the moderately well off.
And when l say waste, l don't include
flowers, pictures or articles solely for the
eye, nor do l consider it waste for a rich
man to nave "A suit for every day in the
year, or 500 pairs of pantaloons, like that
estimable New York gentleman, Berry
Wall. l mean waste in every day, mat
ter of fact articles such as everybody
uses.
Let us take pins, for a starter. You
have doubtless been asked what becomes
of the pins and didn't know. Nobody
knows, not even the English journal that
recently offered a cash prize for a solu-
ton of the problem. They are lost, and
that's all you can say about it. But why
should they be lost2 You don't lose your
diamond pin, although it's not much
larger than "A common brass one. 1t Is
evident that the pins could be taken care
of, and that they ought to be let figures
attest. There are go, 900, 900 people in
the United States, and / am sure every
one on IN average loses five cents worth
of pins per annum. That makes SO, 000,-
600 a year gone nowhere. My 1 per
cent. on that would give me $50, 900 a
year; enough to clothe me, at any rate.
Just think of SO, 000, 900 a year lost for
ever, as not one pin in 20, 000, 900 is ever
found again.
But that is only n beginning. Let us
take up cigars and pipes as the next arti-
81, 49,, tla ,nt,Ia.,,n - rr.,-tn nAp't 10.
alarmed l am not going to compute the
cost of smoking and call it waste, because
l am u smoker and nave scruples. l am
going TO concede that money invested in
tobacco is well invested and then open
your eyes to another awful leak. Let us
approach the subject gradually, because
it is vast. There are 1000, 900 cigars a
week smoked in this city and 1000, 900
pipe loads of tobacco. Don't ask me how
l know this data-you put me out. Az
erage cost of cigar to consumer, five
cents; total cost, $50, 900. Average cost
of pipe load, one cent; total cost, 500, 900.
Grand total, $4,000 a week expended,
and of this amount one-ffth is wasted.
After long observation and careful calcu-
lation / find that one-fifth of each cigar
is thrown away unsmoked and the same
proportion of each pipe load. This may
seem large, but 1 am confident that it is
rather under the average and it repre-
sents n loss of S14, 900 a week, or $72S,-
900 n year. Remember, this in Philadel-
phia alone, and l can safely multiply it
by fifty to include the rest of the country.
Grand total, $780, 00, 600, on which my
percentage is 1864 900. / already have
n respectable income you perceive.
Now we come to liquors %-vinous, malt
and spirituous-to be treated in the same
way. The average man leaves q portion
in his glass; not much, to be sure, for
times are hard, but at least n twentieth.
Another wasteful habit prevails of blow
ing the froth off beer, but l will let that
pass. To figures again: Six thousand
saloons, at 100 drinks per saloon and av-
erage cost eight cents, equals $4S, 900 a
day, or $1,000 900 a year. Five per
cent. waste equals 1851 900 for Philadel-
phia, $32, $50, 900 for the whole country
and 1926, 600 for me.
1 am only in the suburbs of this sub
ject, and already l am appalled, at the
amount of territory that stretches before
me. l will have to bunch my hits. 1t
is estimated by careful housekeepers that
one-tenth of each pot of coffee or tea is
not fit to drink, and what to do with the
slops no one knows. Jumping the crusts
Of bread, ends of steaks, lab of butter,
crumbs of cake and pie remnants, / am
within bounds when l say that one-tcnth
Of every meal goes to waste, and since
everybody eats, even if they don't smoke
or drink, the aggregate must be enor-
nous. l will not enter into figures, but
will content myself with taking $500, 900
n year as my percentage.
Ihave not finished, even if / do quit.
In the matter of buttons there must be a
large sum coming to me, and likewise in
the item of matches. Very few persons
make n match do its full duty. Then
look at the unnecessary amount of paper
that is used in making fires by women,
when old paper is worth n cent a pound.
There are other things too numerous to
mention, and l ! AVE not taken at all into
account the things that are thrown away
and return 10 their original clements, and
so in n measure are not wasted. l am
aware that the list is incomplete, and ]
feel sure you will be able TO supplement
it from your experience. Philadelphia
Call.